More desal plants to come

By 2020 at least two more permanent desalination plants should be up and running in this country and Chief Town Planner, Mark Cummins says the proposed locations have already been identified.

Cummins did not reveal where these sites are, but, he said that provision is to be made in the amended Physical Development Plan to ensure that no unwanted development takes places in the areas. Additionally, he said that the Plan will also propose that the lands in and around any desalination plant be designated Groundwater Protection Zone A and will therefore be subject to the policies of that zone. The Chief Town Planner made the point while noting in an interview with The Barbados Advocate that his office has been working closely with the Barbados Water Authority to not only examine the island’s water needs, but ensure that adequate provisions are put in place to address challenges that could arise.

“The Water Authority as you would expect sits on our steering committee for the Physical Development Plan and we are able to share a lot of pertinent information with them in terms of where the new developments are projected to go; and every application that comes into my office for the subdivision of land also has to go to Water Authority. So there is an inextricable link between the Planning Office and Water Authority,” he said.

With that in mind, he explained that the proposed plants are needed to help meet the demands on the country’s potable water supply, noting that Barbados is one of the world’s most water scarce countries. And, warning that the situation is not likely to improve any time soon, he said the relevant authorities must take steps to augment the water supply.

“We were water scarce before the onset of climate change but what has happened now is that the onset of climate change has exacerbated the situation. Instead of having an average rainfall of around 60 inches or so per annum, we went through a period of two to three years where we had less than 40 inches of rainfall.

The rainfall is likely to become more and more unpredictable and so we have to prepare, as it is only a matter of time before we run into more challenges,” he said.

To that end, he indicated that the amended PDP will also seek to promote policies which speak to comprehensive water management. (JRT)